Of EleC!ion. Vexations to his Spirit, he fuffered in them; and not only his hanging on the ~' Crofs, but all hts Temptauons from Satan m the Wtldernefs, were Ius Suffer- Chap. 8. ings. All the oppofiuons, reproaches, and contradtchons that Sinners and~ this wicked World made 3gamft lnm! they were part of hiS Sufferings, He6, 12 ; l· Cot1jider hion that mdured (mark 1t) facb co11trt~;di[/ions of Sinners, (fucb as never no man elfe) they were part of hiS eodunngs, Now this is a certain Rule , that whatever_you can reckon and account to have been·his Sufferings; they acqUired and mented (m ever)' tmle of them ) a redeeming power, a purchafing power of f?mething of hke nature for us: .•~nd the emphafis,force, or reafon of tha~, hes 10 thofe words 10 He6r. 12. r Again{/ himjetf,t&Jc,which is as if he had fatd, That he, fo great a Perfon, tbould fubmit to bear it, ex· pofe himfelf, and fuffer himfelf to fuffer, to be tempted by Satan, and the World, who_could have ~ung them backward, and defiroyed them, as in the entrance to hiS lafi Suffenngs he gave Ev1dence, So then, as elfewhere it is termed, the bloodof God, fo thefe were the Temptations of God, not obj'– ltivelyonly, aswearefaid to tempt God; butfubjedively, fo as he (ujfered in them all Perfonally, as we poor men do when we are tempted. SoHebr. 4 • •>· Wann all pomts tempted like M wt are. He m hts Perfon, as we in ours. Now all thefe Sufferings being for'!', and ~s the Scripture fpeaks,He there– ill giving up hzmfelf for tM; and a ptece of hunfelfwas concerned and touch't upon in every Tempta~ton; they therelore aim to ·have a redeeming , purcha· fing Power and Abtlttym them for us; as Tztm 3· '4· Who gav. himfetf for U! to redeemU!. And according to that Maxim of his, he uttered,when he came to fuffer, Her~ I am, tah me, let th•fego free, John 18. 8. And again, add this, which is as certain a Rule, That whatever Chrifi did particularly fuffe~ in, th~t fuffering hat~ afpeclal virtue and ability of redeem– ing us from the hke particular, wherem we fuffer , and he thereby did buy help and fuccour for us therein. So then, his being tempted bought off all our Temptations, either notto befall us, er if they befell us, in the end .to leave us. Have we a Temptation of Shame comes upon us, that is, a bufinefs that is matter of Shame, Pfatm 69. 6, 7· Let 11ot th•m that wait on thu , 0 Lord God of Hofls, be ajhamedfor my fake: Let 110t thof• tbat feel: thee 6e cotl{oundrdfor my fake, 0 G•d of lfrael; 6ecau(e for thyJalu I have 6orn ,.,. proach, (hame bath coveredmyfaa. 'Tis aPfalm of Chirfi, if ever any was made for him: For it is quoted four or five times of him in the New Tefiament. Now obferve from thence, with what intentions Chrifi tranfaded things with his Father : And what was the fcope and intendment he direded his fufferings in any kind unto, you may learn it by this one infiance farther; Ijujferjhame, faysChrifi, 1have 6or11 reproach,We. For what end and fruit was it? L•t not them that wait on thee6r a/hamtd, We. and he adds twice, for my fah. The meaning is not as to this fenfe, Becaufe they cleave to me, and adhere to me, and are of my Party, and fo that though I were foiled, yet let not them be fhent or lljham•d for my (akt; no, but the clean contrary : tu Ephej: 4· utt. As God for Chrifl's fake bath forgivtn you. He there pitcheth it thus , becaufe l, for their fakes, do at thy command bear that tbame, which·they fhould elfe have done: LordI take it off from them, 6ecaufe thot• hafl laid it upon m•: s~ it expre·lly follows, Verfe 7· Btcaufe for thy .fake I h,zve 6orn reproach, /ham• bath coveredm.J face, The clear refolve of it is this: Now what is fpoken of matter of fhame there, the fame holds true cf any particu· Iar thing which Chrifi fuffered, or which befallerh u;: We may fay of each of his fufferings, that it bath procured of his Father, that we,for lm fake,fbould be relieved in it; and that, becaufe h' fujferul itt hi•g tempted, therefore he is a6te meritorioully, and by way of merit and defert at his Father's hand, he comes to have power to help and fuccour us in that particular, be .it what it will be. I have elfewhere given other Infiances of ltke kind, out of r Cor. 3, 9 . andMatth. 8.17. and 1Pet, 2.24. fpeakin~ to Servants beaten and ab~· fed, Br whofe flripu ye are bealrd. . Now fo 11 IS m the pomt of Ten:ptatt– ons in any kind; he bore our TemptatiOns, he was tempted, that for h1s fake· we might have, either no fuch Temptations, or have them moderated, and S f ia
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